BLOG
Weather cancellation
Due to thunder and lightning, today's Downtown/E. Riverfront tour has been canceled. It will be re-scheduled at a later date. Check www.wheelhousedetroit.com/tours for the latest tour calendar.
Hey Grouponers!
We are really excited with the overwhelming response of our Groupon coupon. If you left a message to make a tour reservation, we will return it on Friday, April 30. Talk to you soon!
Detroit Bikes! Cinco de Mayo Ride
On May 1, Detroit Bikes! will host a Cinco de Mayo ride that will take off from Clark Park at 10 a.m. The 10.5-mile route will take in Fort Wayne, Riverfront Park, and St. Anne’s Church. Registration and free bike helmet raffle begins at 9 a.m. For more information, visit www.detroitsynergy.org/projects/detroitbikes or email detroitbikes@detroitsynergy.org.
This weekend's lineup
The water is sparkling, the birds are chirping and the sun is shining. Wheelhouse is open for its final weekend of spring hours. Starting next Friday, we'll be here seven (7!) days a week from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
This w
eekend, we have two private tours and one public one, which we hope that you will join! It's The Villages, with a stop at a community garden and the Time, Inc. house in West Village, a tour of an Indian Village home and the riverfront grounds of a Berry Subdivision home. Looks to be a really great ride. It takes off at 11 a.m. from the shop; you can register on-line at www.wheelhousedetroit.com/tours.
So yeah, we're here from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday...see you soon!
Portraits on the Riverfront
One of our customers, Noah, has a series of portraits called The People of Detroit. His most recent shot is of one of our regular visitors, Larry. It's a great shot with a great accompanying story. For some reason, I can't figure out how to link the photo directly, so head here to check it out.
Spring Tune-up Special Deadline: April 16
Friday, April 16 is the last day to bring in your bike and receive the Spring Tune-Up Special price of $40. Saturday and beyond, it'll run you the regular rate of $50. We are open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Big news for this weekend is that the Wheelhouse crew (Except Lisa, who will be manning the shop!) will be undergoing training provided by PEAC on Saturday to ensure that we are all up to snuff, safety-wise, when we are conducting our tours.
Our first tour of the season, Architecture, went off with a bang last weekend. Among our VIP guests were Bud Liebler, owner of Midtown's venerable The Whitney restaurant and Michael Hodges, who writes about architecture for the Detroit News. Here's what he had to say about it:
Led by architect Brian Hurttienne of Detroit's Hamilton Anderson Associates, the three-hour tour utterly rocked -- one of the high points of A.B.'s spring. Happily the tour will be given once a month throughout the summer. Check the Wheelhouse website or call for dates. It's a great way to see the city. Detroit, as writer Toby Barlow has pointed out in the New York Times (click here to read his entertaining, well-observed op/ed piece from several months ago), is virtual heaven for bikers: flat, and almost no cars, particularly on the weekends.
Read the rest of his blog post here.
Slots are filling up on our next tour, which is April 24 and will visit The Villages. Head to www.wheelhousedetroit.com/tours to read more about it and to register, as well as to peruse our full schedule.
Words from the Banana Stand
Another weekend at the Wheelhouse! We'll be here Friday, Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Our first tour of the season, Architecture, rolls out at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Join us for an informative ride through Elmwood Cemetery, Lafayette Park, Midtown and Downtown. Expert commentary will be provided by local architect Brian Hurrttienne.
We've added two more bikes to our stock, the SE Dew, which is flat black, and a white female Sun Drifter ($360). 
We've just received a large shipment of Bell and Giro helmets, and we've also begun to carry Randy's Granola, a locally made healthy treat for $2.50 per individual pack. See ya on the river!
Weekend Update
How amazing is this weather? This weekend we'll be here Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. We're closed Sunday for the holiday.
Misc. Bloggage
Just a few notes for the week:
- We are launching a Featured Item of the Week that will be broadcast to our Facebook Fans. The item will be on sale and will be a product that we heartily recommend -- as in, we use it and believe in it. This week it's a light set, but you have to become our Fan to get all the deets!
- Ladies, the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals has launched a survey called "Writing Women Back into Bicycling: Changing Transportation Culture to Encourage More Women to Cycle More Places More Often." Here's what they have to say:
- We got some nice coverage in Real Detroit Weekly!
While it is an exciting time in the U.S. as many new bicycling projects are being installed, women continue to participate in bicycling at lower rates than men. We are conducting a survey of women and girls to hear from them about the many possible factors influencing their cycling decisions. Take the survey (open until May 15, 2010 – women and girls only please) at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/womencycling. We would like to hear from non-cyclists as well as current and past cyclists. Final results will be available after May 15, during National Bike Month.
Extensive bike riding in a city that centers around the fundamental tenets of car manufacturing is, of course, no small feat of accomplishment. But encouraging riding as a form of personal transportation and fostering a more healthy community identity are some of the core principles practiced by the owners of Wheelhouse Detroit, along with the shop’s devoted following of wheelie worshiping disciples. The Detroit biking tours, especially, are a landmark way for Detroit area dwellers to step off the confines of their front porches and really take in the classic, pristine beauty of some of Detroit’s forgotten architectural majesty.
Check it out here.
We Support Complete Streets
Detroit's relatively well-maintained wide roads, built for a much-larger population, mean that Motor City cyclists have it relatively easy. We get to cruise down streets with nary a car in sight oftentimes! But that doesn't mean that things can't be better. Complete Streets are those that are designed so that they are safe for cyclists, pedestrians and the handicapped -- not just for moving the maximum number of cars at a time.
This brochure breaks down the concept pretty clearly: cs-brochure-features
The Michigan Complete Streets Coalition is working to make this concept a reality statewide, meaning that any road built or even rebuilt would align with the Complete Streets model. This weekend is the Michigan Bike Summit, pushing this issue is at the top of cycling advocates' agenda. Can't make it to Lansing on Saturday? You can still support safer roadways by signing the petition.